CHARACTERISATION OF INTER-LAMINAR SHEAR STRENGTH (ILSS) OF A RESIN INFUSED WIND TURBINE BLADE POLYMER COMPOSITE VIA THE SHORT BEAM SHEAR TEST

• Main Author: MUHAMMAD HAZIQ, A.KADIR
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Universiti Teknologi Petronas 2011
• Subjects: TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery
• Online Access: http://utpedia.utp.edu.my/6949/1/2011%20-%20Characterisation%20of%20inter-laminar%20shear%20strength%20%28ILSS%29%20of%20a%20resin%20infused%20wind%20turbine%20bl.pdf; http://utpedia.utp.edu.my/6949/

Resin infusion process is the most preferred process by manufacturer to fubricate composite wind turbine blade. The application of this process affects the mechanical property of composite wind turbine blade such as interlaminar shear strength (ILSS). However the ILSS distribution for composite wind turbine blade that has unsymmetrical shape is not widely known and it needs to be quantified in order to measure the quality of the blade. The purpose of this study is to characterise the ILSS of a resin infused wind turbine blade polymer composite via short beam shear test and the map its distribution in a single blade. A composite wind turbine blade was manufactured by using resin infusion process and the resin infused in line feed from root to tip direction. The composite blade was divided into 27 blocks with 9 columns and 3 lines and a total of 6 specimens per block were cut according to ASTM Standard 02344. Universal testing machine with three point bending fixture used for the short beam shear test and the maximum load observed during test is converted into ILSS value by using ILSS equation obtained from ASTM Standard 02344. It was found that the root area of the blade has the highest ILSS followed by its middle area and root area. Moreover, the lower side of the blade has higher ILSS value compared to its upper side. The results showed that the specimen obtained from area containing low void formation has high ILSS value while area containing high void formation leads to low ILSS value. The void rormation in the composite wind turbine blade influences tits ILSS distribution. As the ILSS mapping objective was achieved, the ILSS value variation among specimens obtained from the upper side of the blade is higher compared to its lower side. It proved that the ILSS value at the lower side of the blade is more consistent compared to its upper side. Several recommendations also have been discussed in this report in order to improve the methodology process and to obtain more accurate data.